Vice-Chancellor Professor Clare Pollock has more than 20 years of senior executive experience.
Ms McMath and Professor Pollock's inclusion recognises not only their individual achievements but also their roles in the significant momentum and progress underway at ECU. As the University approaches a transformative milestone, the completion of its landmark ECU City campus at the end of this year, both leaders have signalled a strong commitment to building on the remarkable legacy already in place.
Ms McMath is a respected figure across multiple sectors.
Since taking up the appointment as ECU Chancellor in 2024, Ms McMath has brought her trademark integrity, strategic insight and deep governance expertise to the role. A respected figure across multiple sectors, including resources, higher education, health and infrastructure, she is widely known for her collaborative approach and focus on long-term impact.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Clare Pollock, who also joined ECU in 2024, has more than 20 years of senior executive experience across the Australian university sector. Professor Pollock brings a strong focus on equity, inclusion and innovation in education.
ECU Council member, Elizabeth Tylich, also joins the Business News 2025 Power 500 list for her contributions to the legal and not-for-profit sector.
Leadership that reflects ECU's values
Ms McMath and Professor Pollock join this prestigious list as they continue to drive ECU's bold transformation with the opening of ECU City, due for completion at the end of the year.
ECU City is the centrepiece of the $1.75 billion Perth City Deal. The new campus will deliver on this by redefining the urban centre, connecting Perth's commercial CBD with its arts and culture precinct, and the Northbridge entertainment district.
Designed to be the most digitally advanced university campus in the Southern Hemisphere, ECU City will bring together technology, creativity and enterprise and will include spaces that are seamlessly open and involving for the public.
The new campus will also be home to groundbreaking global partnerships.
ECU recently announced WA's first Apple Foundation Program, set to launch in 2026, providing students with hands-on experience in app development and entrepreneurship. This follows the success of ECU's collaboration with IBM, which has already seen students placed in paid internships through the IBM Future Lab at Joondalup Campus.
That spirit of transformation is also evident in ECU's refreshed brand. The University's new logo now features a gumnut leaf, a subtle but powerful reference to Edith Cowan's iconic election brooch and the story about how she believed becoming a female MP would be a 'hard nut to crack.'
Beyond Perth, ECU is expanding its global footprint through partnerships with world-leading institutions such as Fraunhofer IKTS, Fraunhofer IAO and NASA, where ECU is leading six Australian universities in the IGNIS Project to study the role lightning plays in bushfires using space technology.
